Markus Hübscher

 Cooperation with university staff

The university staff of NUST were very helpful and the cooperation was smooth. They supported us in terms of logistics with print-outs and minor logistical problems to be solved. They also actively and constructively participated in the final business plan presentation.

Sadly, the Founding Father of the Namibian Nation, Sam Nujoma, passed away on February 8, 2025. The funeral took place during our second week of teaching, causing the university to be closed. A big thank you to the students who showed up in week 2 and wanted to finish the workshop, despite NUST being closed!

Cooperation with students

The cooperation with the students went very well. Not surprisingly, they were shy initially. But the longer the course, the more the students relaxed. They appreciated the fact that they were able to learn in a safe environment, where mistakes could be made without negative consequences and feedback was given in a constructive manner. Given the size of the class, (week 1: 38 students, week 2: 24 students), it was difficult to engage with the students on an individual level.

Students were generally very anxious with regards to the interviews. We conducted the interviews in a way where the students interviewed themselves in groups of 5 to 6. Since many students were never interviewed before, we – Tobias and myself – chose to do 2 interviews with 2 volunteers in front of the class. This allowed the students to observe a real time life interview.

Impact and win-win

Given the active participation of the students (and given the feedback received) the students profited from the workshop a lot. They had many possibilities to present, do interviews and receive open and honest feedback. Unfortunately, given the size of the class, not every student was able to profit equally.

For me personally, it is always rewarding to teach young students. While creating an atmosphere of active participation with classes of this size, the feedback of the students showed that they appreciated the workshop more than we may have thought.

Personal message

I enjoyed working with the Namibian students a lot. I got the impression that we were able to give them valuable input and were able to support their future career.

Additionally, the HR session with professionals from Bank Windhoek was very good and well received. Finally, the cooperation with Tobias worked very well, he brought in a few excellent ideas.

Week 2 was challenging given the funeral of the founding father of Namibia, Sam Nujoma. But it was inspiring to see that the class – with a few exceptions – was committed to finish the CSW despite NUST being closed.